THE BRIDGE TO CARACAS (Volume 1 of The King Trilogy)

CHAPTER 70

Marty Piniero's white Cadillac Eldorado screeched to a halt in front of Casa Zavala within seconds after Mike and Karen emerged from Julio's taxi. Carlos leaped from the Cadillac, wrapped his long arms around Karen, and dragged her, kicking and screaming, into the front seat. Before Carlos could slam the door, Piniero pounded his foot on the gas pedal, causing his Cadillac's rear wheels to screech in agony against the dry pavement.

Mike's heart pounded wildly. His stomach writhed and twisted into knots. During the seconds he had taken to pay Julio, he had once again lost the love of his life. Enraged, he raced on foot in a vain attempt to catch up with Piniero's car. "Damn you, Servito!" he screamed as he quit his unequal race with the Cadillac. He turned and ran back to Julio's taxi. "Follow them, Julio!" he puffed. "Don't lose them! I'll pay you anything you want—just don't let them get away!"

Julio's lime green taxi immediately took off in pursuit of the Cadillac, weaving and dodging through dense city traffic.

"Faster, Julio!" Mike urged, his eyes focused on the Cadillac, his mind refusing to touch on Karen's fate. "You've got to go faster!"

"But I want to stay alive," Julio protested.

"I want Karen to stay alive. She's the only woman I've ever loved. They'll kill her if we don't stop those bastards!"

Julio crossed himself, clenched his teeth, and depressed his gas pedal almost to the floor. His taxi caught up with the rear of the Cadillac within ten seconds. "Try to get in front of him and cut him off," Mike demanded.

Julio again crossed himself and floored the gas pedal, gradually moving his taxi beside the Cadillac.

Piniero swerved hard to his left. "No!" Julio yelped when the Cadillac slammed hard against the taxi with a sickening thud. "I can't do this!"

"Try it one more time!" Mike pleaded. "Just once more, Julio! We've got to stop that car!"

Both cars raced through a red light, with the taxi several inches behind the Cadillac's rear bumper.

"Turn hard right and hit him!" Mike urged. "I'll buy you a new taxi!"

Julio's taxi grazed the rear bumper of the Cadillac. Almost simultaneously, a red flatbed truck clipped the rear bumper of the taxi, causing it to spin out of control. It ricocheted off a concrete abutment and crashed against the side of a yellow Volkswagen bus that was parked by the side of the road. The noise and smoke immediately drew a crowd of pedestrians and started a world class grid-lock around the accident scene.

Julio used his handkerchief to wipe the blood from a gash on his forehead, and then turned his soulful brown eyes to Mike. He shrugged his shoulders and turned his palms skyward. "I'm sorry, Mr. King. I tried."

"It's not your fault," Mike said. He handed a huge wad of bills to Julio. "Take this and call me at the hotel if you need more."

The sound of police sirens became louder and louder.

"I've got to go. I can't let the police find me." Mike patted Julio's shoulder before jumping from the taxi and running from the scene.

Despondent and dispirited, Mike returned to his hotel apartment and flopped, face down on the bed. "Damn you, Servito!" he muttered again and again, pounding his fist on the pillow.

Thirty minutes later, Mike's bedside telephone rang. He reached for the receiver and jerked it to his ear.

Servito's repulsive voice was unmistakable. "Now I'm going to see how big your balls are, King. My beloved wife is at my house and I'm going to give you a chance to save her life."